


Lock The Door Behind You When You Go

by SunlightOnTheWater



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Temporary Character Death, Demon Deals, Demonic Possession, Episode: s02e22 All Hell Breaks Loose, Episode: s03e11 Mystery Spot, Episode: s04e01 Lazarus Rising, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-25
Updated: 2014-05-28
Packaged: 2018-01-09 23:59:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1152372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunlightOnTheWater/pseuds/SunlightOnTheWater
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The deal had been made, the cards stacked. Everything was set for the pending apocalypse. There was only one problem; no one could seem to find Sam Winchester's soul.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Olivia I

Everything had been perfect. Dean Winchester had been desperate, willing to make any deal she asked of him just to get his precious Sammy back from the Hell he was imaging his little brother in. He had no idea the truth; that Sam was safe and sound tucked away in Heaven and was only now just adjusting to the change. She had given him the ultimatum. He had tried to resist but eventually gave in. The deal had been sealed, as was required. In one year Lilith's hellhounds would come for Dean and drag him away to Hell but if he tried, in any way, to break the deal his little brother would die instantly. It was a watertight deal; one that even the craftiest of lawyers shouldn't have been able to poke holes in. There was only one problem; no one could seem to find Sam Winchester's soul. It had simply vanished as if the youngest Winchester had never existed in the first place. Or as if God himself had pulled Sam into Heaven and locked the door behind him.

Demons had scrambled frantically for a solution, any solution, because no one wanted to tell Lilith that the plan had gone wrong. That the plan wouldn't work anymore because Sam Winchester's soul was simply gone. They came up with a quick fix, threw a demon into Sam's body all while slinging dire threats of what would happen to it if it failed, and silently prayed to whatever deity that would listen to them that it would work. It did. Sort of.

Dean noticed that something was wrong. Of course he did. Besides being Sam's older brother he had also practically raised the kid. He knew the youngest Winchester probably better than the kid knew himself. Azazel, annoyed though he was at them for losing his favorite child completely, patched up the situation as best he could before Dean killed him; adding extra protections for the demon on Sam's body and asking Dean smoothly how he knew what the demons had brought back to him was one hundred percent Sam. It had held thus far but all of Hell was pretty much crossing their fingers and hoping it lasted. They had been lucky so far but the Crossroad's Demon wasn't sure it would last. That was why she was standing in Broward County, Florida watching the Winchester in a diner and trying to figure out if Dean had put all the pieces together.

It was hard to tell, like one of those puzzles with the million tiny pieces that fit together but you were never quite able to see how until the end. If Dean did catch on he had every right (and yes, even people who made deals had certain rights if the contract was unfulfilled or incorrectly fulfilled) to storm to the nearest crossroads, summon a crossroad's demon up, and demand the return of his contract. To rip it into a thousand pieces and burn those pieces into ash. Lilith believes she has everything covered. She has a demon called Ruby keeping in contact with the demon pretend to be Sam, giving her weekly reports. So far she thinks everything is going splendidly. The Crossroad's Demon believes she is wrong.

Then Dean gets hit by a car. It's almost artistic, the way his body gracefully flows through the air to crash to the ground. She gapes at the scene, disbelieving. What does this even mean for the deal? The demon in Sam seems equally stunned. Then it, she isn't even sure whether it was male when it was human or female, falls into panic mode. It stumbles over to Dean, babbling almost senselessly. She watches the scene, filled with a sense of disbelief that only grows when the entire world resets itself.

"Why are you here?" The voice speaking next to her is a strange mixture of confusion and demanding impatience. She considers the question for a moment and then, without turning, she tilts her head toward the Winchester boys who are walking towards the diner just like they did fifteen minutes ago. She considers the idea that this might not be the first time the cycle has reset itself, she did lose them for a couple hours before she tracked them here after their last case, to avoid thinking about just how powerful the being standing next to her is. "That isn't Sam, is it?"

She turned her head and found herself staring directly into butterscotch eyes. "No," she said calmly. "It isn't."

"Does the older brother know?" She shrugged helplessly, still unsure whether Dean had caught on to the game. Between getting run over by a car and now crushed by a falling desk she isn't sure he's actually thinking much at all at the moment. "Ok, easier question," the being continued. "Where is Sammy Winchester?"

"Nobody knows," she admitted as the cycle resets. "He's simply vanished." The puzzled expression on the being's face doesn't make her feel any better about the situation.

"You have a name?" he asks after a moment.

"Olivia." The name felt strange on her tongue, as if it didn't quite fit her anymore. "At least that's who I was."

"You might want to consider going under the radar for a while Olivia," he told her. "Because things are about to get messy." Looking into those eyes, she didn't doubt it. She nodded once in thanks and then walked away, considering her options. She'd heard Arizona was quite nice this time of year.


	2. Gabriel I

He'd known something was wrong with Sam from the moment the Winchesters had arrived in Broward County. It wasn't as if he'd made a study of them the last time he'd encountered them. It was more like his angelic senses had pointed out that something was wrong. Something like a demon walking around in Sam's skin. The same skin that no longer contained any of the real Sam. Now that the crossroad's demon had confirmed that fact though it seemed to smack him in the face. Where was Sam then? The demon, Olivia, had admitted that no one could find the youngest Winchester's soul. That mean only one thing; Dad had stepped in.

Where did He take Sam then? Where was he hiding with a human soul? "Where are you Dad?" Gabriel murmured, resetting the cycle again. "And what are you up to?" He waited a moment, almost expecting an answer. When he received none he turned his attention toward the Winchester. Dean was walking around with a demon even now and Gabriel, like the crossroad's demon, was unsure whether the older Winchester brother suspected that he hadn't quite got Sam back or not. There was only one way to find out. With a snap of his fingers, he reshuffled the world, separating the demon from Dean. He saw a brief flash of the demon's absolutely terrified expression before the creature impersonating Sam was gone.

"You again," Dean snapped, glaring at Gabriel.

"Yeah, it's me," Gabriel agreed even though he knew the older Winchester brother didn't have a clue who he really was. "We need to talk."

"About?"

"Sam. The thing walking around with you isn't your brother." Dean nodded tiredly, as if he'd half expected that himself. "You knew this?"

"The yellow-eyed demon, Azazel, suggested something like that before we offed him."

"Well," Gabriel said slowly, suddenly realizing exactly how many inhuman bodies were taking an interest in starting the apocalypse. "He wasn't lying. That thing you're walking around with, it's a demon."

"How do you figure?" Dean appeared wary and Gabriel didn't exactly blame the older Winchester. Last time they'd met he'd tried to kill both Winchester boys and their friend; not exactly a great start to any relationship.

"I can see it," he said flatly and watched Dean consider that. The older Winchester brother predictably missed all significance in that statement but didn't hesitate to turn to more important questions.

"Then where is my brother?" Gabriel just shrugged. He didn't know any more than anyone else. He suspected but that was another matter entirely and he guessed that one did not simply inform Dean Winchester that God had taken his little brother's soul on a walk and never come back with it. Despite the fact that getting a stake shoved into his chest wouldn't kill him it still hurt and he didn't exactly want a repeat performance.

"Go ask a crossroad's demon," he suggested when Dean didn't look appeased. "Ask for your contract back while you're at it and don't take no for an answer. There's no point in going to Hell if they didn't fulfill their part of the bargain." The oldest Winchester boy didn't look any happier about the situation than he had been when Gabriel had first told him the truth but he also didn't exactly look murderous; more resigned to what had happened. Gabriel waited for Dean's nod and then snapped his fingers, breaking the cycle completely and vanishing into thin air. It was time to find Dad.

In the end God found Gabriel instead of the other way around. One minute the wayward archangel was searching for his father in Las Vegas (Why? Because he happened to like Vegas-that's why) and in the next he was in a garden. It wasn't any garden that had ever been created on earth nor was it one that had ever existed in Heaven. "So," Gabriel said, feeling his father's presence rather than seeing it. "You're building gardens in Limbo now?" A rustle of wind brushed by him, carrying words in an language so old even the archangel struggled to decipher it. "Oh, I'm sorry, Purgatory. That's so much better." The silence following that comment felt distinctly disapproving and he felt himself flush. "Fine, fine. I'll be good for the moment." Another long pause and Gabriel sighed. "So what do you want with Sam's soul?" Another silence, this one a silence that distinctly said Gabriel wasn't going to get an answer any time soon.

He felt like folding his arms over his chest, pouting, and stomping his foot like a six year old girl. Instead he restrained himself and walked further into the garden. For someone from Earth it would have been gorgeous, from heaven's perspective it was plain, and from the viewpoint of anyone in Purgatory? Well in that case Gabriel might as well go ahead and call it Heaven. Grass whispered softly under his feet, trees sighed contentedly in the wind, flowers let off sweet perfume, and somewhere in all the beauty God was talking. Gabriel could hear the whisper sound of His voice echoing throughout the garden; not quite loud or clear enough to be understood by anyone but the intended.

He paused near a hedgerow and gaped as the plants actually rearranged themselves around him. So this was how Dad was going to play it, huh? Gabriel wasn't entirely sure how to take that. He'd done the same thing just a few minutes ago to Dean and the demon wearing his little brother's body but having it done to him wasn't near as amusing. Vaguely Gabriel wondered if he had seemed this irritating to the Winchesters all those months ago. At least now he could blame it on some form of genetics. He brushed that thought aside and turned toward his real reason for seeking his father; the mysterious disappearance of Sam Winchester's soul. "So Dad," he said, glancing around the garden. "Why exactly am I here?"

For a moment he thought he'd be ignored again. Instead the hedgerow in front of him opened up like the Red Sea before Moses. Gabriel considered the rather spectacular gesture for a moment, shrugged, and walked through only to have the path close up behind him. Now thorny rosebushes stood in his path, twisted over one another. "What is this?" he demanded to anyone listening. "Sleeping Beauty?" This time the wind through the bushes seemed to be laughing at him. He scowled as the bushes parted for him but walked onward.

The rosebushes changed to weeping willows, a winding river sweeping its way through their lower branches. A few Lilac bushes grew wildly out of control and little further out and then everything simply cleared away to grass. A beautiful turquoise lake lapped gentle water against smooth pebbles and pale sand. At the far side of the lake he spotted Sam Winchester's soul. As most human souls, it took the form of the body it once possessed. It gleamed pale blue and silver and violet but was tarnished with an odd bronze-black stain that hung like a second skin just over the purity of the first. He was sitting at the edge of the water and appeared to be talking to someone. Gabriel didn't need guesses to know who. He hesitated, hanging back on the opposite side of the lake listening to bare sounds as Sam conversed with God.

Normally humans couldn't speak with his Father, they simply couldn't understand His voice, but Sam Winchester seemed to be different. He seemed to be listening. And whatever answers Sam Winchester was getting he seemed to be accepting. Gabriel watched with silent awe as his Father's being seemed to wrapped around the youngest Winchester, both protecting him from harm and healing him in mind and spirit. It was something he had never witnessed his Father do and would probably never see again. His astonishment only grew when his Father's power blazed, enveloping Sam in pure creationary power. When the light faded away he and Sam were both staring, astonished.

Wings the same tarnished bronze-black as the stain on Sam's soul had been spread out from his back, the feathers shifting slightly in the gentle breeze. Gabriel was so caught up in the moment that his father actually had to call him twice before he heard and responded. "What? Huh?" he stammered out, uncharacteristically speechless. His Father waited patiently for Gabriel to come back to the present. "What do you need me for?" The whisper that curled around him was gentle and questioning. He hesitated a moment, considering first what was asked of him and then who would manipulate the kid if he didn't do as his Father requested. "Yes," he said at last. "I'll do it." The parting breeze that wrapped around his shoulder's before his Father vanished from the garden felt approving.


	3. Dean I

As soon as he got the chance, Dean ditched the demon pretending to be his little brother. It wasn't particularly difficult; he simply told the demon he was going out for a drink and he'd be back in a few hours. On the drive to the nearest crossroad his mind then decided to question how often he was actually going out to drink if a _demon pretending to be his brother_ didn't find that excuse alarming. He parked just outside the crossroad, preformed the ritual, and waited. The demon that appeared was the same one that had given him the deal and she seemed both amused and resigned by his presence. "Jig is up then?" she questioned, something that was almost a self-satisfied smirk planted on her borrowed face. "I knew it wouldn't last."

"Then you were smarter than the rest of them," Dean said, voice monotone, and she smiled as if he'd just given her a huge compliment. 

"You'll be wanting your contract then?"

"Yes," he said coolly, not at all surprised by the lack of relief that came with the knowledge he wouldn't be going to Hell. Instead he felt defeat because he'd just failed at the one task his father had always given him; protect Sammy. His little brother was truly gone and Dean had to figure out how to live without any of his family. "And the demon out of my brother."

"Well I'm not technically supposed to do that but I think something can be arranged," she told him. 

"Like what?" Dean asked warily.

"I'm about to get into big trouble for this," she informed him. "Even though it isn't my fault. I'd simply appreciate it if you didn't banish me back to Hell after all this is over."

"So you can wander around offering deals to anyone who will take them? I don't think so."

"What part about big trouble did you not get?" she shot back. "I'm going under the grid which means I'm not exactly going to be doing work."

"Fine," Dean said with a sigh. "Do we have to seal this?"

"No," the demon said, uncharacteristically serious looking. "I'll take your word. Give me a moment and I'll be back with your contract." She vanished then, leaving behind the barest scent of sulfur. Dean waited, trying to ignore the ever growing dread in his stomach. It had been there ever since that damn Trickster had told Dean what he'd suspected all along was true; the thing walking around in his little brother's body wasn't Sam. In fact, Sam didn't even seem to exist anymore.

"Where are you Sammy?" he asked the night sky above him, not at all surprised when no one answered. Seconds later the demon returned, handing over a literal scroll. He stared at it for a moment, somehow surprised by the solidness of it, and then warily took it from her hand. He broke the seal on it and unrolled it, surprised when he found it was written in English.

"Most demons were human once," the crossroad's demon said, successfully interpreting his bemused silence. "And the majority of them spoke English."

"What do I do with this?" he asked at last, once he'd finished reading over the basics enough to be sure that it really was his (his name mentioned explicitly as well as Sam's was a big clue).

"Burn it?" she suggested with a shrug. "That's what most do." He nodded, motioning for her to follow him to where the Impala was waiting. He dug through the glove box to pull out a lighter and burned the contract right in front of her eyes. "Good," she said with a smile. "Ready to go get the demon out of your brother?"

"Yeah," he replied tiredly and watched as she slipped into the passenger seat; _Sammy's seat._ That thought sent a splinter of pain through his chest because that wasn't Sammy's seat anymore. Sammy wasn't coming back. The drive back to the hotel room was driven in complete silence. The idea of living the rest of his life without his little brother was just to bleak to consider. He unlocked the hotel room, breaking the salt line so the demon could step in, and was surprised by the string of Latin curses that passed through her borrowed lips when she entered the hotel room. Once the sight registered in Dean's mind he found he couldn't argue with her cursing.

The entire room was wrecked, as if someone had torn it apart. Sam's body was gone. "Damnit," he cussed and the demon nodded.

"This isn't good, is it?"

"Not at all," she agreed. "They're planning something with your brother's body. I don't know what it is but I can tell you it won't be good."

"Guess we're going to be working together then," Dean admitted grudgingly. The demon looked no happier than the Winchester at that point.

"I was hoping this could be resolved quickly. I hate it when I'm wrong."

"You and me both," Dean replied ruefully. "Give me fine minutes to pack and we'll be out of here."

"Fine, _Winchester_ ," the demon huffed and then was out the door before Dean could say anything in reply. He considered yelling after her and then decided against it. First of all it wasn't worth the effort and secondly, whatever happened to the demon riding Sammy's body like a carnival ride might happen to them too.


	4. Gabriel II

He wasn't entirely sure how to approach this. Hell, Gabriel wasn't even sure how to approach _Sam_. The last time he'd seen the kid he'd been playing the kind of tricks that got him on a Hunter's radar. So much had happened since then. Sam had _died_ since then and if there was one thing Gabriel didn't want to do it was to tell someone he'd died. Still, it had to be done before he started all this. He approached Sam warily, unsure how the former human would react when he sat down next to him. "Hey," he said after a moment of awkward silence. Sam turned slightly, studied him for a moment, and allowed a brief smile to cross his face.

"So who are you?" The youngest Winchester asked. "Really?"

He considered how to answer that for a moment before finally saying, "They call me Gabriel."

"Really? And you're wandering around pretending to be a Trickster?" Sam asked, seeming mildly amused.

"Yeah," Gabriel said ruefully. They sat in silence for a moment before Gabriel found himself turning toward the subject he was so desperate to avoid. "Sam?"

"What?"

"You do know you're dead, right?" He must have sounded wary enough to set off alarm bells in the Hunter's head because Sam was suddenly studying him intensely.

"Yes," the youngest Winchester said at last, his tone amusingly reassuring. "I know. I even remember how I died." The brief shudder that passed through new wings was enough to tell Gabriel that Sam wasn't quite as calm about the entire situation as he seemed. "You don't have to go over it again."

"Right," Gabriel replied, unable to completely hide his relief from his new brother. He got a vague, pained smile in return, as if Sam understood the relief of not having to explain to someone how they died, even though he couldn't possibly understand. "So..." He trailed off, for the first time in his life unsure what he was going to say. "The upgrade..."

"I noticed," Sam chimed in wryly, saving the archangel from stammering pointlessly. The wings twitched with restrained amusement and Gabriel found himself smiling.

"Do you even know what any of this means?"

"Do you?"

"No," Gabriel replied. "But I'm beginning to." His father didn't do anything without reason. Not creating humans, not allowing Lucifer to rebel, not vanishing into thin air, not locking Lucifer up, and definitely not bringing Sam Winchester's soul to Purgatory and transforming him into a celestial being. Therefore He was making a very clear statement about what he thought of this entire business and it was one Gabriel could stand behind. There was not going to be an apocalypse. Sam seemed to be considering Gabriel's last statement, turning it over as if trying to make sense of it all. "Don't think about it too hard," Gabriel told him. "You'll explode."

"Not possible," Sam informed him with flat amusement. "And I'm already dead."

"Fair enough," Gabriel admitted, watching twitching wings. They were broadcasting every emotion that passed through Sam; subtly yes but the cues were still there. Gabriel wasn't sure if he should be delighted that Sam was relaxed enough to broadcast some of his feelings or worried that this was just enough sign his brothers would eat the kid alive. "Listen kiddo, we have work to do. Dad's given me a week to teach you everything you need to know before we're out of here and on Heaven's radar. Understand me?"

"Perfectly," Sam said calmly.

"Good. Let's get down to work then," Gabriel returned. "The clock's a ticking." And it was. He might not know what it was ticking down to but he recognized the feeling that time was running out. And that Sam would never be ready for what Dad wanted him for in time.


	5. Olivia II

Riding in a vehicle with an angry Dean Winchester had never been on Olivia's wish list. The music he was playing was loud and angry and grating on her since she was stuck in a human body. "Would you mind turning that down?" she growled. It had been two hours and she was having trouble thinking.

"Car rules sweetheart," Dean growled back. "Driver picks the music and shotgun shuts his, or her, cakehole."

"Do you want help finding the demon riding your brother or not?" Olivia hissed. "Because I've been trying to think of an easier way to track him down than just waiting for his body to show up somewhere or finding Lilith and your music is making it impossible." She could hear his teeth grinding against each other but he did reach over and snap off the music. Olivia resisted the urge to sigh in relief as the throbbing her head subsided, allowing other thoughts to break through. Her first consideration was to use a blood spell to track Sam's body but she didn't know the true identity of the demon inside the younger Winchester's body and she wasn't sure if she could track just Sam's body without getting trapped by Lilith. The next option would be taking one of Lilith's flunkies that was close to her and torturing the information out of them. It had been a long time since Olivia had brought herself to torture but sometimes, when she allowed her mind to rest for a bit, she could still feel the blade in her palm and blood soaking into her skin. She could do this. They just had to find one of Lilith's lackeys."I may have something," she admitted as the miles slipped by.

"What is it?" Dean demanded, his eyes bright with an emotion that might have been hope or might have been anger.

"Tracking Sam's body is too risk, at least at this point," she told him. "It would attract Lilith's attention and you would be dead before you could do anything about the demon that's been walking around with you. We need to track down one of Lilith's lackeys and convince them to spill the beans on what she's planning and where she's hiding Sam's body."

"And you just happen to know where we can find one of Lilith's little friends?" Dean asked scornfully.

"Not for sure," Olivia said. "But I have an idea. And you aren't necessarily going to like it. You see, Lilith travels with an entourage."

"The princess can't go on a killing spree without her loyal servants?" Dean said with a snort. "Cute."

"Lilith is not well liked in some circles of Hell so it is not wise for her to wander about alone," Olivia replied icily. "Lilith's cook will be the easiest to discover and can be ambushed while she is gathering food for Lilith."

"What do evil little demon's like to eat?" Dean asked curiously, his expression wryly amused. Olivia scowled at him, remembering when she had discovered exactly what Lilith ate. She had still been human enough to be horrified. Even now she did not appreciate joking about Lilith's appetite. "What?" Dean demanded, annoyed.

"Babies," Olivia said grimly. "Lilith eats babies." She was not at all shocked when Dean hit the breaks hard enough that if she had been a human not wearing a seatbelt instead of a demon not wearing a seatbelt she would have flown through the windshield. As it was she simply jolted slightly and gave Dean an impassive look. "Stopping in the middle of the road would draw unwanted attention to us," she pointed out and Dean growled before slowly moving back to acceptable driving speeds again.

"Lilith eats babies." Olivia could hear the forced calm in his voice and she sighed.

"Yes. When Lilith is out she eats human babies. Get over it." Olivia was irritated by the human tendency to get stuck on little details. "It isn't important. What is important is that we can find Lilith's cook. All we have to do is search the hospitals in areas we know Lilith has been and find a place where babies have been mysteriously taken."

"That's it? That's the plan?"

"I know it lacks the explosions and chaos you Winchesters are so known for but it is the best thing we have," Olivia replied harshly. "Now find us a library. We have research to do." Dean growled at being ordered around by a demon but she watched him begin to pay attention to the roadsigns flying by them. She settled back in the passenger seat and closed her eyes, allowing her mind to drift. She'd worked as a crossroad demon for Crowley for five centuries, once she'd proven that she had absolutely no finesse when it came to torture. She'd been good at it and now she was throwing everything away. Why? Crowley was working for Lilith so there would be no mercy that would be had. She would be tortured and ultimately eliminated from existence for her failure. Lilith would not accept protocol as a valid reason for allowing Dean Winchester to burn up his contract. She _needed_ Dean Winchester to break in Hell. John had not and it had to be one of Michael's potential vessels to break in Hell and break the first seal. She would die doing this and for nothing. It wasn't a particularly demonic idea. And Olivia kind of liked that.


End file.
